May. Ifllf). 



American "Bgc JoqrnalJ 



per frame, while I had to sell the sec- 

 tion honey at a big discount rather 

 than lake it back home. This proved 

 conclusively to me that the public is 

 willing to buy and eat more honey if it 

 is put before them in a different form 

 than that of the conventional section 

 box. 



A buyer stepped up to the bootli and 

 asked: "How do you sell your 

 honey ?" Fifty cents per frame. " Why, 

 that's cheap. Cot any more .'" while 

 I heard a lady remark, " I know that 

 isn't 'manufactured.' " 



Eating honey at 20 or 25 cents per 

 section is a luxury and a seeming ex- 

 travagance, from the consumers' stand- 

 point, and it only appears on the table 

 at rare intervals. 



For the comb honey producer noth- 

 ing would be better than to market the 

 honey in the shallow extracting frame. 

 It makes a beautiful appearance when 

 packed in the glass front shipping 

 case, and is sure to attract attention. 

 Each frame should be wrapped in oiled 

 paper and neatly tied. A shipping case 

 of slightly larger dimensions than one 

 holding 24 sections is required. Honey 

 packed in this manner will stand trans- 

 portation better than in sections, for it 

 is more firmly attached to the sides. 

 Offered to the consum 'r in this form, 

 the frames holding 3 pounds net and 

 retailing for tid cents per frame, will 

 sell almost as readily as a section at ih 

 cents, and the consumption is trebled. 

 The customer is buying his honey at 

 20 cents ter pound instead of 25 cents 

 per section holding 12 ounces. On our 

 farm bill board is a sign reading : 

 " Bulk comb honey 15 cents per pound." 

 This honey is cut out of the shallow 

 extracting frame and delivered to the 

 customer in half gallon paper oyster or 

 ice cream buckets, which makes a neat, 

 cheap, and convenient package. This 

 meets with a ready sal ;, and our list of 

 customers is constantly increasing. 



The great trouble with the retail 

 honey market is that honey is offered 

 for more than it is usually worth. I 

 have taken the time to enquire the re- 

 tail price of honey in a great many 

 towns and cities, and I find it usually 

 offered at 22 to 2-'i cents per section, re- 

 gardless of the number of ounces in 

 the section. However, I met a grocer 

 at Seymour, Ind., who is a gem from 

 the honey producers' standpoint. He 

 wished to sell more honey, and in or- 

 der to do this he talked honey and ex- 

 hibited honey. Ten glass front cases 

 were stacked in his show window, and 

 a neat display on the inside. I find, 

 said he, " that I can double my sales on 

 honey by offering it at 20 cents per 

 section,- or two for 35 cents, rather 

 than hold out for 20 cents per section 

 straight, and with a little salesmanship 

 the customer takes two sections in- 

 stead of one. My profit on the indi- 

 vidual sale is smaller, but I sell more 

 oi' it, which more than counterbalances 

 the difference." 



Here, my fellow beekeepers, is the 

 key which unlocks the door to a 

 greater demand for honey. We must 

 get the retail price lower, not that the 

 retailer is not entitled to a legitimate 

 profit, but a profit of 25 or 30 percent 

 on a single section is more than the 

 business justifies. " Smaller profits 

 and more sales" is what we must ham- 



mer into the retail if we would have 

 the public "eat more honey." 

 Washington, Ind. 



No. 5.— The Honey-Producing 

 Plants 



BY KRANK C PELLETT. 

 il'/lotesnil'/is I'v the ,iiil/ior ) 



IN the June number we expect to take 

 up the sources of early spring nec- 

 tar and pollen, and in the midsum- 

 mer issues will consider the sources of 

 the principal honey flows on the north- 

 ern United States and of Canada. It 

 will be some months, probably, before 

 we return again to the minor plants 

 blooming in late summer and fall. 



BUTrON BUSH, 



The button bush, also called button 

 willow (Cephalantluis occidentalism, is a 

 bushy shrub growing in marshy places, 

 stagnant shallow water, and along 

 streams, from Nevv England to Texas 

 and west to California. This shrub, or 

 in places a small tree, has a very wide 

 range and is found in most of the 

 States where honey production is im- 

 portant. Bulletin No. 102, of the Texas 

 Agriculturpl College, reports it as 

 common throughout Texas, and the 

 bulletin relating to honey plants of 

 California (217 Experiment Station), 

 records it as a good honey plant in 

 California. It is listed in the catalog 

 of plants of nearly every State and of 

 Canada, which the author has con- 

 sulted. It is also said to occur in Asia 

 and possibly Africa. 



Our readers then who live in the 

 vicinity of wet lands are likely to find 

 specimens near at hand. In a few sec- 

 tions it is sufficiently abundant to be 

 an important addition to the midsum- 



mer flora. It is reported as more par- 

 ticularly valuable in the overflowed 

 lands along the Mississippi river. "The 

 bees seek it eagerly when in bloom, 

 and in places where it is plentiful it is 

 regarded as of consideraMe value as a 

 honey plant. 



The honey is light in color and mild 

 in flavor according to published re- 

 ports. Fig. 22 shows the shrub as it 

 appears in bloom, and Fig. 23 shows a 

 near view of the flowers which are 

 crowded together in dense heads giv- 

 ing them the appearance of round cot- 

 ton balls. 



The shrub is very bushy with an 

 abundant foliage. It is reported as 

 reaching a height of 40 feet in Califor- 

 nia. In Alabama it is recorded as a 

 shrub of from 6 to 15 feet in height 

 which is more like its appearance in 

 Iowa according to the author's obser- 

 vation. Here it is rather a small bush 

 not much higher than a man's head, 

 and as far across, with many branches 

 from the ground. 



The blooming period is July and 

 August, according to locality, a season 

 when additions to the honey-producing 

 flora are most welcome. 



ROCKY MOUNTAIN BEE PLANT. 



The Rocky Mountain bee plant, Cle- 

 ome serrulata, also known as stinking 

 clover, is principally confined in its 

 distribution to the plains region west 

 of the Missouri river. It is also re- 

 ported from north Pacific Coast States. 

 VVhile it is a dry land plant, it is occa- 

 sionally reported from Illinois, Iowa 

 and Minnesota. Although it is occa- 

 sionally seen elsewhere, the author 

 has not seen it in Iowa excepting 

 on the Missouri river bluffs where it is 

 plentiful in some localities. This plant 

 is reported as especially valuable in 

 Colorado, where it is said to produce 



FIG 22.-BUTTON BUSH IN BLOOM 



